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Aug 11, 2011

Thursday, August 11, 2011 Clive Probert

Theme: PUNCH LINES. Common descriptors for types of boxing punches are given new figurative definitions, with a humorous wallop.

17. Very angry, informally? : RIGHT CROSS Right means very, in this usage. The punch, delivered with the right hand, crosses over the opponent's leading arm. I believe Laila is delivering one above.

26. Tackle box item for liberals? : LEFT HOOK. Liberals are left-leaning- figuratively. The punch, delivered with the left hand, is powered by turning the core muscles of the back to swing the arm.

44. Chuck steak, for example? : UPPER CUT. Eating high in the cow. The punch involves an upward motion of the striking hand with the arm bent up at the elbow. It is usually targeted at the chin, and is most useful at short range.

And the unifier: 58. What 17-, 26- and 44-Across are, figuratively and literally : PUNCH LINES.

Plus a bonus: 18 D. Recover from a knockout : COME TO.

Hi gang, It's JzB making an atypical Thursday appearance. Let's fight our way through this puzzle.

Across:

1. Bike part : PEDAL. Where you put your foot to power the mechanism

6. Boo-boo : FLUB. An error - like misreading the clue as Boo-hoo.

10. Call heard at night : HOOT. From an owl. In the day time, has any body else noticed an absence of bird song? I hear squawking birds, but not singing birds.

14. Upstage a co-star, perhaps : EMOTE.

15. No trouble at all : EASE.

16. Within: Pref. : ENDO. You have an ENDOskeleton. An insect has an exoskelton.

57. Base runner? : AWOL. Not to be confused with the Twins of Summer. This is clever. Someone who has run away from a military base is Absent Without Official Leave. AWOL doesn't need to be designated as an abbrv.

77 comments:

Terrific write up that had me chuckling all the way through it, and I loved all the musical links today, JazzB – thanks! That picture of Laila is just right for today’s theme entries.

I was muddling around in the NW trying to get a foothold on this one. PER SE and DOG IT just didn’t pop into my head right away. So when I drifted right, and LEFT HOOK emerged, I laughed out loud. After that, it was smooth sailing.

I really enjoyed the lively fill in this one. I already mentioned a couple that seemed quite fresh, but I also enjoyed seeing FLUB, HEAVE HO, ON ME, KITSCH and GAGA. Thanks Clive, for a super fun Thursday!

Happy Thursday JzB and all, this was fun and well blogged, but BG already posted my comment, except I knew DE TROP, a common expression in French, which is making a strong comeback in puzzledom. Do I have to post a pic tomorrow to start the blog?

My kids loved Zelda but I did not know OCARINA, or NIM for that matter/ have a great day all.

Thank you Clive for a clever puzzle. I worked the puzzle early this morning and finished about 2:30 a.m. I was really surprised that the Blog was already posted. Nice write-up Jazzbumpa. I really enjoyed Laila's picture since her name was in a puzzle this week.

Base runner was really sneaky. I got pedal right away. The theme answers came to me easily.

Someone must have heard about my bitching yesterday because this was an enjoyable offering in spite of a couple of Huhs. Kitsch was new to me as was ocarina. The C was a wag, but it worked.Frodo and Trop were both new too and the crossing O was another wag.

Favorites were ONE PLAYING THE FIELD/ATHLETE, IT'S IN YOUR JEANS/DENIM (Had something else in mind), & BASE RUNNER/AWOL.

Don't ever remember getting the HEAVE HO from a watering hole, but there likely was a time or two when I should have been tossed.

I didn't have an issue with BOO BOO/FLUB. Back in my "jock" days, Boo Boo was used occasionally when talking about an error. But the BOO BOO/OWIE connection is/was the more common usage.

I also wanted OWIE for 6A, and WHEEL for 1A was there for way too long, making that corner the last to fall for me. I didn't know OCARINA, or NIM and had several WAGS to get through it, but it was a nice Thursday challenge.

Jazz, great music links. I have trouble finding time to listen to all those lately! And yes, what Lemonade said about de trop. "Trop" literally means "too much", so the 'de' just helps it relate to whatever it refers to.

I figured 'Napa' was too easy for a Thursday and started checking perps to find a different valley. Yes, I got fooled on that one once before.

JzB, we still get serenaded by mockingbirds here in South florida. They are really nice to listen to... except in mating season when they go to full voice in the middle of the night right outside my window.

OCARINA and FRODO were the total unknowns that relied on perps to fill. Very enjoyable Thursday solve.

Jazz: Nice write-up and links.Esp. enjoyed The Lovin'Spoonful tune. That song is my life's mantra.

OK, My favorite PUNCH-LINES are the ones I deliver when (on occasion) I hit the Comedy Clubs.

Fave today (obviously) was that Drunk getting the HEAVE-HO crossing the TAVERN.Hey, I DO enjoy a PINCH or two (my limit) but never the drunks out-in-public ... who then (Ugh!) get in their cars to drive home.

Yup, I fell for Napa before the SIMI Valley LET-ITself appear.

Cheers to all at Sunset.(Yeah! It has stopped raining here. Over 5" in 3 days. Wish I could have sent some to Texas).

Fun Thursday level toughness cw. Liked KON TIKI smack in the middle of it which offered 'KO' to augment the boxing PUNCH LINES theme. Got my first strong footholds on the bottom, and then let the solve bubble its way back to the top ending in the NW. Liked the clueing for AWOL, EARP, and ITALIC. De TROP is a new word for me. Good job, Clive.

6d, FERN; a story: A sceptical anthropologist was cataloguing South American folk remedies with the assistance of a tribal elder who indicated that the leaves of a particular FERN were a sure cure for any case of constipation. When the anthropologist expressed his doubts, the elder looked him in the eye and said, "Let me tell you, with fronds like these, you don't need enemas."

Good morning. Smooth effort today, but still Thursday level. Didn't know TROP and agree with Barry that this has to be the most obtuse clue of all time for OCARINA. Favorite answer was KITSCH. I had enough perps to know that had to be the answer, but couldn't quite dredge up the actual spelling, so had to let crosses do the entire job.

Great links JazzB. Especially liked the Pepsi commercial. I'd forgotten that Bob Dole had done that one. I also thought of Jefferson Airplane when BEST OF appeared. Here's one of the better tunes from that album, Lather

There was no TKO for me in this one, out cold and still Coming To. Started right from the start putting in Wheel for 1A and Whole for 1D (don't ask). It was definitely a full blown fight from there. Finally got some traction with a Left Hook and an Uppercut. Kitsch, Ocarina and Tsarina were the knock out punches. A good Thursday Puzzle. Nice work Clive.

Timing of this theme was appropriate again. We actually worked on Uppercuts in class last night. Weird after the rain we had yesterday.

What a delightful puzzle and write up! You bloggers have said it all in your accolades. I second all the priases for the constructor and JzzB.

It was a romp with the only unknown being OCARINA used this way, but easy to guess with the perps. I really don't mind this kind of clue as long as the word doesn't cross an equally obscure one.After reading the blog I looked up this Nintendo game. Music plays an important role in it. To progress the player must learn to play and perform several songs on an ocarina. The game was responsible for generating an increased interest in and rise in sales of the ocarina.

I got Dole by working from Kansas. After 25 yrs. in the Senate and running for President against Clinton, Dole is rmembered most for Viagra ads. What a shame, even though I don't endorse his politics.

I was sailing right through this puzzle until the SE corner. I had to look up the OCARINA clue and after coming here found that the crossing of TROP and FRODO needed an O and not an E as I had guessed. A couple of answers filled in through perps but I didn't fully understand them until JzB's write-up. Thanks for the explanation and the links, Jazz! I didn't know NIM and I was reading 'IV' as 'four.' Ah ... now I get it!

All in all this seemed to be an easier Thursday than usual. I will say 24D 'It's in your jeans' kinda made me wonder for a bit, especially when I had '_ENI_.' LOL

For 53A 'Twins' in the sky, I thought of you, C.C. Your Twins took care of my Red Sox and Jon Lester last night. Nice hit by Jim Thome. Also, I read that Justin Morneau's coming off the DL again. They're movin' up!

I don't mean to undermine Clive's effort, but his clue with BooBoo made it seem he's looking for a slang answer not proper like FLUB, other then that and OCARINA which I think was a Low Blow, the puzzle was quite clever and just right for a Thursday.I believe 46A is TIS THE SEASON ? Am I right ?

Off to Carlsbad's Lego Land with the kids, hopeY'all have a great week

Hello everybody. Excellent puzzle today. For some reason I zipped through it with very little difficulty.

Nit: I have never used AWOL as a noun, nor have I ever heard anyone use it as a noun, so I was loath to put it in. Only after completing the puzzle did I look it up, and sure enough, the dictionary says it can also be a noun. I don't really know how, because it is an acronym for an obviously adjectival phrase.

Nit: A crew member is an OAR? Sure enough, according to said dictionary, an oar is a person who rows. Jeeez.

Nit: Like those of you who tried to think of or find a carol that begins with TIS, I couldn't find one either.

Item: I laughed out loud at your comment, LaLaLinda, because I had the same thought upon filling in _ENI_.

Item: It had to be either BILBO (I hate that name!) or FRODO, so I pencilled in the O right away. EARP enabled the decision.

Who knew female boxers got "made-up" just to get punched out!I was "right cross" with my SO the other day because he wouldn`t dole out tavern money to me. I threatened a left hook to his tete and knocking him clear into Kans! He began to back pedal and said, "Go on down to the tavern on me." So I took Fern with me and mayhem did ensue! After a few hours, we ran out of money and tried to go on the dole. The owner said, "I`ll give you your choice: I`ll toss you both outta here OR give you both the old heaveho." What gall!So, without giving him more static, we ease(d) on home. My amor poured black coffee down us until we were semi-sober. I said, "Did anybody get the tag number of that USS battle ship that hit us!" My SO said, "Next time Fern wants to go sin...letter! You stay here with your favorite male! or I`ll be all torn up! I`ll make the zombie`s and I won`t dog it. Now, come to papa before you earp or become inert. And, oh my, you look like you`ve been through demille!"

Well done JazzB, thanks - guess I will need a pic on Saturday, huh? Thanks for the constellation link - I was never happy with the effeminate sign of Aquarius, but now that we have "thirteen", I shifted to a more manly "Capricorn" goat....

Good pic to go "Gaga" over

I think you might be right, too, about the bird song - here on LI, I hear the squawking, but no singing....Hmmm

I was OK with Boo-boo/Flub, except I, too, read it as boo-HOO. Agree also on the "tis" lead-in needing to be "Deck".

I like Yellowrocks' point about obscurities. They're OK, if they don't cross.

I'm surprised more people don't know about FRODO. In short, he acquired a lost ring of power that had been crafted by the evil wizard Sauron. The only way to save the word was to destroy the ring, and that could only be done in the volcanic fires in which it was forged - in the heart of Sauron's realm, Mordor.

After a couple thousand pages of danger and adventure, Frodo arrives at Mount Doom - but he is physically and emotionally exhausted, the ring has corrupted him, and he cannot fling it into the fires. Enter Gollum, who long ago possessed the ring and is utterly corrupted by it, and has has been tailing Frodo for a long time. He bites off Frodo's finger to get the ring, and falls to his and it's destruction in the cracks of Doom.

Want to thank Jazz for a terrific blog. Had to put the puzzle down last night but readily finished the NW corner this morning. Some fun fills.

Some cheesy info...STILTON is the only protected cheese in England and the specific recipe calls for pasteurized milk...Neal's Yard Dairy in London carries the best of the best of this lovely distinctive cheese which goes extremely well with Port. The original recipe used raw milk and thanks to Randolph Hodgson, the owner of Neal's Yard Dairy,raw milk Stilton, which they named Stichelton, is again being made in Nottinghamshire on the Welbeck Estate. The cheese cannot be DOP because of the recipe change, but I was lucky enough to be able to taste it as it was being developed and I can say it is a beautiful cheese.

France and Italy have many DOP and DOC cheeses and many of their wine regions are also protected. There are the beginnings of protected wine regions here in the US also.

This seemed a surprisingly doable Thursday puzzle. I did have one lookup, but on the whole, I thought it pretty easy. I've never had any business with video,and the only game I knew of in which matchsticks were picked up was called "Pick Up Sticks" appropiately enough. So even though I should have been able to get it with perps, "Nim" was beyond me. I had most of 56A so that fell in easily and settled all the other blanks. I know what an "Ocarina" is, but have never heard it used in such a way. In fact, I'm not too sure what that way means in the game title. Is it really about an ocarina or is it supposed to be a name or title?

Bill G. , I'm still the same avatar but I'm getting closer. Apparently the name I gave my pic is not acceptable and I'm not too sure why, but I guess when I satisfy that, I'll be set. Thanks for asking!

Re. Lord of the Ring/The Hobbitt, it was required reading at our school and an English-teacher friend recommended it to me. I borrowed The Hobbitt and worked at it for a month or more. Finally I gave up the effort. It just didn't get me emotionally involved.

Dodo, I don't remember ever having to name my picture. Let me know where you are up to when getting stuck.

Various versions of NIM are all strategy games. There is always a winning approach. The simplest version I know is to start with 15 toothpicks. When it's your turn, you can take either one, two or three but no more than that. Whoever gets the last toothpick wins. (If there are two toothpicks left and you take them both, you win.) OK, I just laid out 15 toothpicks. Do you want to got first or not? How many do you choose?

I'm really delighted to know that I'm not the only one who hasn't read 'The Hobbit' and the rest of that book! I tried, really, but just couldn't get into it, but fortunately for today, I did remember the name 'Frodo'. I just cant get into fantasy or sci/fi.

I read 'booboo' as 'boo hoo' twice! so it cost me some time in the beginning. I had 'chain' at first but after working the first row downs back to the beginning, I cleared that up rightaway. 'Pedal' worked so it stayed.

"Tis the season to be jolly" is the second line in Dack the Halls. I can't think of another carol starting with 'tis', either.

The appearance of STILTON is a timely coincidence. I recently Netflixed all available episodes of Chef! starring the talented Lenny Henry. In one episode, Chef is determined to make the best possible version of a dish, and that leads him far into farm country to buy black market unpasteurized Stilton. Mmmm.

The Hobbit was a pleasant read, I've gone through it perhaps three times, but Lord of the Rings was a chore. I only managed it once. Never understood why it had to be so long. One character in particular, Tom Bombadil, never seemed to fit in with the whole rest of the story. Perhaps sharper readers know what I don't.

Hard puzzle for me today. Hardest was "kitsch" and "ocarina." Never heard of the game and I kept thinking of Torme as "the velvet fog" and tried to go somewhere with that.

"Call heard at night" My mother loved owls and had a collection of them--ceramic, tin, wood, etc. When I came home from her burial in Idaho, a little owl had taken up residence in my bird house. He's been here off and on ever since. I fantasize that she sent him to me for comfort.

Tolkein was a great writer, but not a great story teller. Tom Bombadill, the barrow wights, and probably other things I can't think of did nothing to move the story along.

Tolkein wrote this epic for his own set of reasons - not the least of which was to give a setting to the languages he invented. He draws heavily on Germanic lore for much of the story and many of the names.

His prequel, The Silmarillion, is very close to being unreadable. But I loves me some TOTR, and have read through it all several times over the decades.

Rowling denies it, but I see LOTR all over Harry Potter. Rowling is a great story teller, but a lousy writer.

To get the best of writing and story, try George R.R. Martin's. Song of Ice and Fire series, starting with A Game of Thrones. Not only is it magnificent in all respects, it's character driven, and that makes all the difference.

JzB: Your comment about tossing (deep sixing) a ball with your grandchildren reminded me of the way my high school students would use a word in a sentence when the word had been defined for them. One girl wrote, "Last night my sister abated tortillas." The given definition was "to make less."

10-Across (HOOT) made me think of this photo from the Telegraph, of an Owl going after a duck. The photographer said the duck escaped unharmed.

I couldn't get through The Hobbit, either, so never even tried the Ring series. My husband dragged me off to see The Lord of the Rings, which I personally found intolerable, so he saw the remaining films in the series by himself.

Jazzbumpa, I also read "The Hobbit" and The Trilogy several times during my teens. Wanting more, I even tackled "Simarillion". Great stuff, but my tastes are all over the place. As long as the writing is good, I can get lost in just about any genre!

Right now, I have to finish "The Help" before book club at my house tomorrow night. I just hope this meeting is a little "tamer" than last month at the lake!!!! I don't think I could take another hangover like that...

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

Dudley...loved that show! And actually, at that time it would have essentially been an underground product, only for the fact that it cannot rightfully be called Stilton if is a raw milk cheese, hence the name Stichelton. It would just be a very excellent blue cheese...lol

The US has made the idea of raw milk cheeses very scary to most people, but some of the best cheeses in the world are raw milk. There are several very dangerous bacteria that can be present, but oddly enough, they seem to show up in pasteurized cheeses because there is no natural flora to fight off the bacteria...Listeria is the most dangerous...No raw milk cheese aged less than 60 days is allowed to be sold in the US...:o(

Hola Everyone, Great writeup JzB. Good to see you today. I thought the picture of Laila was a perfect opening for today's writeup.

I did finish today, but the unknowns like Ocarina, Trop, Nim,and Altai all filled in with the perps so I didn't have any look ups. I found this puzzle easier than yesterday's. Not always the case for a Thursday.

My favorites today were Base runner/AWOL and One playing the field/Athlete. Kitch isn't a word we see often and the different clueing for Gaga was clever.

I have to agree, Bill G. that Gorgonzola is about the best blue around.

I enjoyed The Hobbit and the first volume of Lord Of The Rings. Actually, the two of them seemed quite similar in that they were both stories of a hobbit going on a journey. The second volume of LOTR stopped me; I just got bored and stopped trying to slog through it. The movies were pretty well done, I must say, and we did watch all three of them on big screen in the theater. I don't really like the actor who played Frodo, though. I think, like beer and coffee, it's a matter of taste and preference.

BillG, I thought I had read all the comments about SSS, but just went back and realized I had missed a couple. You're right - you can disagree by saying "yes", but I still think of "disagree" as a "negative". But what Rich would have done with that one, we will never know!

And 4.0 for GPA...hmmm. How else would you clue it? "Used to be a 4.0 was perfect a perfect one, but now extra points are awarded for Advanced Placement classes...". Nah, that won't fit in the tiny space they allot for these puzzle clues! This is why we all pick apart the "clues" we are given, especially me!! But I'm getting to be more tolerant of "get the general idea" type of clue we often see.

And Yellowrocks, I would love to see your "snake in the grass" link. Just so I know I wasn't completely off base on this one. Thanks to everyone else who critiqued and commented!

Chickie, hope you have a great time tonight on this special occasion! I have already had some feedback - everyone absolutely loved the book. I'll let you knw when I finish it (probably around midnight...)

Hi gang, I was just scanning the blog and notices several bloggers didn't like or didn't understand the Lord of the Rings, I think it may be related to either how much you enjoy SF / Fantasy and or how old you are?

Both my wife and I read (and enjoyed) all of the series starting with the Hobbit, so we knew the answer for 'Frodo' had the same number of letters as 'Bilbo' so I just put in the ending 'o' and waited for perp's to figure it out.

We also saw and enjoyed the LOTR movies, it brought the books to life.

Marti, for GPA, how about "4.0 used to be a perfect one"? If Rick doesn't want SSS after all our positive comments, what about some other editor? BTW, would we ever get feedback from him about questions about clues like today's about 'tis? It seems odd to be very picky about some things such as "Snake in the Grass" but loose about other things unless they are just oversights.

Chickie, Happy Birthday to your husband.

WM, interesting information about cheese. Have you ever said where on the west coast you are located?

Did I find out about "The Last Dog On the Hill" from this blog? Whether or not I did, it's a great book. About a dog and a tutor, so it has wonderful dog moments and some very interesting comments about tutoring kids. I think all dog lovers and teachers would like it.

I am really new at this, so I have little idea what goes on in the editorial department. I do know that Rich looks at the themes and decides if he likes it or not. It it passes his muster, then it goes to "test solvers" who give him feedback on fill/clues. They also do a lot of research to test the "validity" of each theme entry, or whether it is "in the lingo'. So there is a lot of behind the scenes work that many solvers never appreciate, or even care about. But, it does usually end up giving us some really entertaining puzzles!

As for SSS being published at a different paper: editors are very particular about a puzzle that has never been "published", even on a blog like this. So, in this case, I'm afraid SSS is dead. Unless, of course, C.C., Don G. and others happen to publish their own book of "rejected puzzles"!!

Oh, and I forgot to answer your question about Rich answering questions about clues that are used in his puzzles. (That sounds overly circumlocutory, doesn't it?) I don't know if he reads any blogs, or if he would even care to respond to questions about why a clue was used. I think it would be very interesting (even fascinating) to hear how his mind works. But, he is the editor, and I defer to his experience and knowledge!

Hey guys, I thought I better check in so you didn't think I took the "Dennis route". I miss you guys, and miss my day to day conversation with you.

Truth is I have been buried at work lately and can't quite take the time to solve the puzzles. When summer comes in MN, we all tend to take time off. When that happens, we have to cover one or many of the buyers. Top that off with schools gearing up to start and the foodshow coming up, and my garden(s) I hope you understand.

Jazz, didn't mean to leave you out...keep on being the Jazzbumpa you are. Your Grandkids are very lucky to have you in their lives. I also enjoy your blogs whenever you do them. I especially liked all your links today.

Hearti-Marti, have you ever seen the pic of the daisy picture our own Wolfmom painted especially for me? I now own it. I am honored. I love daisies. I'll try to change my avatar.

Good Evening, folks. Glad to be back. Thank you to Clive for a swell puzzle today. Thanks Jazzbumpa for the great write-up.

I have been in PA for six days, having returned late last night. While there I could not print the crossword. I also could get it on my IPAD. I guess Apple blocks the software. So, I was deprived for a while.

This puzzle was a good one. I jumped around to get it it done. Missed FRODO and TROP. Had FREDO and TREP. Did not know either one. Guessed and missed.

The them was great and helped me with the rest of the puzzle.

Never heard of STILTON cheese, but think I may look for some. I like cheese.

Before I went to PA, I broke my glasses. I left with only my reading glasses and made do. Upon returning, I went to the eye doctor today for a new prescription and was told I have Narrow Angle Glaucoma. Kind of rare. I had a Yag Laser in my right eye and the left will be next week. I am on eye drops for a while and must monitor this for the rest of my life. I guess I was lucky I broke my glasses. Wish me luck with this. I am a little shaken up about it.

BillG...SF Bay Area...I was one of the original Calif. Coven..:o) In my previous life I have been, among other things, a cheesemonger and a US sales rep for Neal's Yard Dairy of London and several wonderful cheesemakers in the US...needless to say I looooove good cheese. :o)

Abejo...if you really want to see what good Stilton is all about...get thee to a good cheesemonger or go online with Cowgirl Creamery or Zingerman's in Ann Arbor, Michigan and order yourself a piece of Stilton from Neal's Yard(both places also have Stichelton). They are purveyors of the very best cheeses from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland...don't cheat yourself by buying an also ran which can set you off ever eating Stilton again...it should be rich, savory and almost meaty in flavor. It is well matched with dried fruits, nuts and a good Port. No other cheese compares. By winter, the Summer cheeses are ripe and you get the absolute beauty of Summer milk. :o)

Bill G, I agree with you, re: Harvest Moon. Who does it remind you of? It reminds me of Windhover and his Irish visiting one of their "honkey-tonks".

WM, good to see you. I can't tell you enough how nice it is to see your painting every morning when I rise. It soothes my soul. I will try to change my avatar tomorrow from work. I went on your website and didn't see it posted in your gallery.

Way past my bedtime. I might be chanelling Fermatprime. Thinking of you dear.

always a pleasure to see you here, ABEJO i had the YAG laser among my many treatments, good luck. I love Stilton and the Hobbits and can't really imagine being at Oxford when C.S. Lewis and Tolkein were both there writing their epics. Get to sleep you need your energy for me and Firday

Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes for my husband. We had a lovely time at the winery. Every Thursday during the summer they have live music. People bring their picnic dinners, buy wine (of course), and enjoy the music. We watched almost a full moon rise over our hills and it was a perfect summer evening.

Good to see you today Jeannie. We worry when someone doesn't check in for several days. Glad to hear that it is "just work" that is keeping you busy.